Happy Friday, fellow book lovers! Feature & Follow is a blog hop hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. The goal of Feature & Follow is to meet new bloggers, make friends, and gain readers.

This Week's Question:

What is the biggest city you live near?

Show us a postcard picture.

Population: 431,746

Not much to see here. Just a couple tall buildings. That one in the front is the DPAC - the Durham Performing Art's Center - where all the "big" shows like The Lion King, Dirty Dancing, and A Christmas Carol live.

Four teens across the country have only one thing in common: a girl named LEILA. She crashes into their lives in her absurdly red car at the moment they need someone the most.

There's HUDSON, a small-town mechanic who is willing to throw away his dreams for true love. And BREE, a runaway who seizes every Tuesday—and a few stolen goods along the way. ELLIOT believes in happy endings...until his own life goes off-script. And SONIA worries that when she lost her boyfriend, she also lost the ability to love.

Hudson, Bree, Elliot and Sonia find a friend in Leila. And when Leila leaves them, their lives are forever changed. But it is during Leila's own 4,268-mile journey that she discovers the most important truth— sometimes, what you need most is right where you started. And maybe the only way to find what you're looking for is to get lost along the way.

At the start of the year, I realized something interesting. I watch movies over and over again, re-watch whole seasons of tv shows, memorize albums’ worth of songs. But I almost never revisit books, not even the ones I love.

I felt that I might be missing out on the pleasures certain books have provided, not to mention missing out on some understanding of subtler themes, characterizations, foreshadowing, whatever. I was missing out. So I decided this year would be the year of the reread. Granted, of the 22 books I’ve read this year, only 9 have been rereads, so it hasn’t been a very concentrated effort. But that’s 9 more than usual.

Below is the list of books I’ve re-read this year. Some books I fell in love with all over again, some I could read a little more analytically when I knew what was going to happen. In one or two the experience wasn’t quite as enjoyable the second time around, since a closer look can often reveal faults. And though whenever I pick up a book for a second time, I’m thinking about all the millions of books I haven’t read even once, the experience has been good enough that I’ll look to reread for the rest of my life.

Early Praise:

“Reminiscent of John Green’s Paper Towns and road trip novels that feature a teen paving the way to adulthood, Alsaid’s debut is a gem among contemporary YA novels.”

– School Library Journal

“Five love stories, beautifully woven together by a special girl in search of adventure, hope, and full appreciation of life’s simple pleasures. A do-not-miss. ”

– Justine Magazine

“Moving and poignant.”

– Glitter Magazine

“An entertaining and romantic road-trip debut.”

– Kirkus

"Leila's quest to find the Northern Lights takes readers on a captivating cross-country journey, where four strangers' adventures collide into one riveting tale of finding yourself."

– YABooksCentral.com

“This will likely be a popular summer hit, especially for older teen about to embark on their own journeys of self-discovery.” – Booklist

About the Author

Adi Alsaid was born and raised in Mexico City, then studied at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. While in class, he mostly read fiction and continuously failed to fill out crossword puzzles, so it's no surprise that after graduating, he did not go into business world but rather packed up his apartment into his car and escaped to the California coastline to become a writer. He's now back in his hometown, where he writes, coaches high school and elementary basketball, and has perfected the art of making every dish he eats or cooks as spicy as possible. In addition to Mexico, he's lived in Tel Aviv, Las Vegas, and Monterey, California. A tingly feeling in his feet tells him more places will eventually be added to the list. Let's Get Lost is his YA debut.

In the Labyrinth, we had a saying: keep silent, keep still, keep safe.

In a city of walls and secrets, where only one man is supposed to possess magic, seventeen-year-old Kai struggles to keep hidden her own secret—she can manipulate the threads of time. When Kai was eight, she was found by Reev on the riverbank, and her “brother” has taken care of her ever since. Kai doesn’t know where her ability comes from—or where she came from. All that matters is that she and Reev stay together, and maybe one day move out of the freight container they call home, away from the metal walls of the Labyrinth. Kai’s only friend is Avan, the shopkeeper’s son with the scandalous reputation that both frightens and intrigues her.

Then Reev disappears. When keeping silent and safe means losing him forever, Kai vows to do whatever it takes to find him. She will leave the only home she’s ever known and risk getting caught up in a revolution centuries in the making. But to save Reev, Kai must unravel the threads of her past and face shocking truths about her brother, her friendship with Avan, and her unique power.

This book sounds really intriguing and (dare I say it?) there doesn't seem to be a love triangle here - or even a real romantic relationship for that matter. I'm so used to YA with fifteen guys fighting over one girl that a YA fantasy with the focus totally on the heroine could be a breath of fresh air.

***

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This is actually a difficult topic because most of my books have been in storage for a year and the rest have been in boxes for two weeks. Anyone else have an "out of sight, out of mind" problem? I'm going to try really hard to remember whose books I own the most of. Here goes!

Catherine Coulter (25)

When considering whose books I own the most of, Catherine Coulter wins by a landslide. I've been reading her period romance books since high school and she's honestly one of the few romance authors I can tolerate. The books that I own are the Medieval Song series (my favorite), the Star quartet, the Viking Era series, the Devil series, as well as The Wizard's Daughter and The Prince of Ravenscar. I think I might have a Catherine Coulter marathon next week!

Sherrilyn Kenyon (15)

Sherrilyn Kenyon is the second romance author I can stand to read and I think it's because her stories are so intertwined with Greek mythology. The farthest I've gotten in theDark Hunter series is One Silent Night (technically number 9, but I've read 15...). The reading order can be a little confusing since there are so many series that fit together, but a quick look at the internet can clear it up!

Robert Jordan (10)

Robert Jordan is another author I began reading in high school. I only made it through book three of the Wheel of Time series back then, but I've picked it back up and am just finishing book five. Though I haven't finished the series yet, I bought books one through ten at a library book sale!

J.R.R. Tolkien (10)

I didn't even know who J.R.R. Tolkien was until 2003 when I saw Fellowship of the Ring for the first time. Once I'd seen it, I was a goner. I watched the first and second films repeatedly and when the third came out I went to see it twice. I couldn't afford a fancy version of the books so I borrowed a red leather-bound copy from the library and carried it around. Later I bought a copy of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy on eBay, which I still have (though I lost the dust jacket). A friend gave me a collector's edition of The Hobbit for my 22nd birthday and I recently received copies of The Silmarillion and The Histories of Middle Earth in a Reddit gift exchange.

C.S. Lewis (7)

I think C.S. Lewis gets a spot on the list by default because his series is 7 books long! I blew through these books in my childhood. I originally owned the individual books but ended up trading with my brother for the all-in-one version when I realized I was going to be moving around a lot. I was so stoked when the movies started coming out! But I'm pretty bummed they waited around so long since they're basically going to have to reboot if they ever want to make more.

J.K. Rowling (7)

J.K. Rowling wins by default also. I hadn't read any of the books prior to 2011 because of a slightly sheltered childhood (but did see the movies starting in 2006) and originally had them for my Nook. Once I realized how great they were, I had to own the hard copies! I couldn't buy just one Harry Potter book, so I bought the whole set from a woman on Craigslist.

Philippa Gregory (7)

So... I saw The Other Boleyn Girl before reading the book too... I didn't do a lot of reading prior to tenth grade, to be honest. After seeing the movie and falling in love with the Tudors, I ended up buying books 2-6 of The Tudor Court series. I also got a copy of The Wise Woman, which I also enjoyed. I'd love to get my hands on The Cousins' War series after seeing The White Queen on TV, but I haven't gotten around to it quite yet.

V.C. Andrews (6)

I first saw Flowers in the Attic as a young teenager and no one told me there was a book series. I didn't find that until I was an adult and located the series at a library book sale. I bought as many as I could get my hands on - the Dollanganger series 1-5. Later I found one other that looked interesting: My Sweet Audrina.

Dan Brown (5)

Yet another example of seeing the movie before reading the book. I loved The Da Vinci Code so much that I had to go find the novel it was based on! I ended up buying the Robert Langdon series - Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code at a library book sale and The Lost Symbol on Amazon while I was deployed. Once I got home I bought Deception Point and Digital Fortress (still haven't read the latter) at - you guessed it - a book sale. Of course, I bought Inferno the day it came out and loved it! I'm dying for another Robert Langdon adventure!

Dave & Jennifer Marx (5)

Well, this is the odd one out. I'm sure you have no idea who these authors are, so let me enlighten you! These two wonderful people write the PassPorter's guides to the Disney parks and cruise lines. Since my first real trip in 2010, I've purchased the PassPorter's Guide to Walt Disney World 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 (preordered), as well as the PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line and Its Ports of Call. These are, by far, the best Disney guides available and I can't imagine taking a trip without one!

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish - a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers. Each week they post a new Top Ten list and everyone is welcome to join. Click here to get involved!

Set against the backdrop of Soviet, post-war Russia, Birth of an Assassin follows the transformation of Jez Kornfeld from wide-eyed recruit to avenging outlaw. Amidst a murky underworld of flesh-trafficking, prostitution and institutionalized corruption, the elite Jewish soldier is thrown into a world where nothing is what it seems, nobody can be trusted, and everything can be violently torn from him.

Given the order to disperse and arrest a crowd of Jewish demonstrators, Jez breaks up the rally but finds his sisters in their ranks. Rushed for a solution, he sneaks the girls from under the noses of secret police and hides them in downtown Moscow. But he knows they will no longer be safe in Russia and that his own security has been compromised. His plan to cross into the Ukraine to a port on the Black Sea where he can bribe passage from Soviet soil for his sisters seems sound, but he is unaware that his every move is being observed and that he is setting in motion a chain of events that will plunge his life into a headlong battle just to stay alive.

Birth of an Assassin was a book a little outside of my comfort zone in more than one way: I've never read anything set in Russia and, as a combat vet, I attempt to avoid books about war. But I decided to give this one a try and I was not disappointed.

The main character, Jez, spends half the book on the run from the KGB and I'm sure you can imagine how that goes. Staying one step ahead of the game, Jez manages to stay alive while coping with loss too great to imagine. The character development is good - I sympathized with Jez and Anna... most of the time. There were a few times that Jez made decisions that made me cringe - things that seemed to be unnecessary, in my opinion. But this is war and war is a different place, I suppose. Especially when the rules are bent such as they are in this book. The main antagonist, Otto, was as despicable as he possibly could have been. I hated him almost from the start.

While it takes quite a while to gain momentum (about 200 pages), this book is a thrill ride once it does pick up. I just wish it hadn't taken so long. The biggest issue I had with Birth of an Assassin was its dialogue. I'm not sure why, but the dialogue is extremely choppy and sometimes very unnatural. I think it is best described as someone translating Russian to English, but maybe that was what the author meant it to be. I honestly checked a couple times to see if perhaps the author was, in fact, Russian. It seemed especially odd because the rest of the writing flowed perfectly. The ending was satisfying enough, though I do wish we'd learned what happened to Jez's sisters (but maybe that's coming in a sequel).

All in all, this book is a good read as long as you can overlook the dialogue and make it through the first half of rather slow intro. I'd definitely recommend Birth of an Assassin to any military or history buff!

About the Author

Do children born into poverty become impoverished adults? It happens; pitfalls and roadblocks to advancement are everywhere. Rik Stone grew up poor amidst the slum-lands of fifties North East England, and left school at 15 without any academic qualifications. He worked in the shipyards on a local river and later went into the merchant navy. Further down the line, he worked quarries in Essex in South East England. But life was without horizons until, contrary to what his teachers had told him, he found he was capable of studying and completed a BSc degree in mathematics and computing. Life got lucky for him when he took company pension at 50 and began writing. And now, here he is offering up his debut novel Birth of an Assassin, the first in a series.

Happy Friday, fellow book lovers! Feature & Follow is a blog hop hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. The goal of Feature & Follow is to meet new bloggers, make friends, and gain readers.

This Week's Question:

What is your favorite TV series that you can watch over and over again on Netflix?

Well, I have a lot of "favorite" shows, but there are only a couple I've watched multiple times. Since I can't decide between them, I'm going to list all three in no particular order.

I started watching Supernatural in 2009 while deployed to Afghanistan after a local Afghan man recommended it to me at a market (yes, they were bootleg copies - that's legal there). I was totally sucked in even though I was only able to get my hands on seasons one and two. When I got home in 2010 I immediately located all available seasons and have since kept up to date. In 2012 I introduced my then-fiancé to the show and we blew through all seven seasons in about two weeks. I'd watch it again right now if I didn't have anything else to occupy my time.

When I joined the military I worked for a doctor from Hong Kong named Dr. Tsang. We talked a lot. Despite what you may have heard, some military personnel are just not that busy - I had a lot of free time on some days. He kept telling me how awesome X-Files was, but all I knew was that I wasn't allowed to watch it as a kid and I didn't think I'd like it. However, he insisted I take season one (because he had all of them) and watch it. I was hooked. Shortly thereafter I purchased box set including seasons one thru nine as well as the first movie. Unfortunately, the next movie wasn't as awesome, but I still own it (or owned it until someone broke into my house and took it). I've been trying to get my husband to watch this series for years.

Spartacus, how I love thee... This show. I don't even know what to say. My husband and I started watching this because we had to find something new after we'd caught up with Supernatural. And ohmygod this show is epic. It's like Gladiator on steroids and for multiple seasons. This show is purely blood and sex for the sake of it, though the based-on-a-true-story is emotional and gripping. When Spartacus #1 died we were devastated and didn't know what to do. Not to mention what the show was going to do! But we even loved the space filler season. This is one of those shows that just devastated me when it ended. I love Spartacus and have purchased it to watch over and over again.

Suspected of killing Vera Donovan, her wealthy employer, Dolores Claiborne tells police the story of her life, harkening back to her disintegrating marriage and the suspicious death of her violent husband, Joe St. George, thirty years earlier. Dolores also tells of Vera's physical and mental decline and of her loyalty to an employer who has become emotionally demanding in recent years.

Dolores Claiborne definitely was not a typical Stephen King book. I wasn't really sure what to expect. I picked it up because I needed an audiobook for my commute to work and school, but I ended up making up excuses to listen to it longer than that.

Stephen King really brought all of the characters to life. At first, I didn't think I'd like Dolores, but halfway through the book I wanted her to succeed. I hated Joe to the point that I found myself scowling while driving down the road - hopefully not too many people saw it. I felt terrible for Vera. King made me so uncomfortable when he described how she was on her bad days. But at the same time, I loved her as a feisty younger woman. At any rate, I felt invested in all of the characters.

The only thing that I thought was weird was that Dolores sat there for 6+ hours talking and drinking and never had to take a bathroom break... AMIRITE???

The clock chimes midnight, a curse breaks, and a girl meets a prince . . . but what follows is not all sweetness and sugarplums.

New York City, 1899. Clara Stole, the mayor's ever-proper daughter, leads a double life. Since her mother's murder, she has secretly trained in self-defense with the mysterious Drosselmeyer.

Then, on Christmas Eve, disaster strikes.

Her home is destroyed, her father abducted--by beings distinctly not human. To find him, Clara journeys to the war-ravaged land of Cane. Her only companion is the dethroned prince Nicholas, bound by a wicked curse. If they're to survive, Clara has no choice but to trust him, but his haunted eyes burn with secrets--and a need she can't define. With the dangerous, seductive faery queen Anise hunting them, Clara soon realizes she won't leave Cane unscathed--if she leaves at all.

Inspired by The Nutcracker, Winterspell is a dark, timeless fairy tale about love and war, longing and loneliness, and a girl who must learn to live without fear.

Since the Splintered series, I've been totally into retellings. I've read The Nutcracker (pop-up book) and I've seen various cartoons. I remember having mixed feelings about it, but this book looks like it is going to be awesome! I may wait and read it around Christmas, but either way I'm going to be giving this one a try.

I'm also hosting a book blitz and giveaway today!

***

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Four teens across the country have only one thing in common: a girl named LEILA.
She crashes into their lives in her absurdly red car at the moment they need
someone the most.

There's HUDSON, a small-town mechanic who is willing to throw away his dreams
for true love. And BREE, a runaway who seizes every Tuesday—and a few stolen
goods along the way. ELLIOT believes in happy endings...until his own life goes
off-script. And SONIA worries that when she lost her boyfriend, she also lost
the ability to love.

Hudson, Bree, Elliot and Sonia find a friend in Leila. And when Leila leaves
them, their lives are forever changed. But it is during Leila's own 4,268-mile
journey that she discovers the most important truth— sometimes, what you need
most is right where you started. And maybe the only way to find what you're
looking for is to get lost along the way.

I think people will never tire of asking this question of authors because we never tire of the answer, which, as far as I know, always has been and always will be: Everything.

If life in its entirety did not inspire us to write, we wouldn’t be writers. Obviously, we don’t walk around constantly inspired by every little thing around us, because that would make us go insane. But the reason that stories keep getting churned out, published or unpublished, it’s because writers can find inspiration anywhere, in any little detail of life, at any time, whether we like it or not.

The difference, of course, is how that inspiration gets turned into a story, what each writer connects to and finds worthy of writing about. In the little Q&A that included in a flap in the amazing-looking ARC of Let’s Get Lost, I said that what usually does it for me is people. To delve a little further, I think most of my writing is inspired by the need to explore the connections between people.

The muse itself, whatever catalyst sets me off exploring those connections in a story, well that can be absolutely anything. A little scene from daily life, a reaction to another story. An overheard line of dialogue, a dream, thin air. A bush, or a guy walking past a bush, or the guy’s bushy beard, or the thought of a world without bushes or beards or guys and how the people in that world would interact with one another, and maybe of just one teen living within that world.

There’s a story in everything, it only requires an author to come along and think so.

Early Praise:

“Reminiscent of John Green’s Paper
Towns and road trip novels that feature a teen paving the way to
adulthood, Alsaid’s debut is a gem among contemporary YA novels.”

– School
Library Journal

“Five love stories, beautifully woven
together by a special girl in search of adventure, hope, and full
appreciation of life’s simple pleasures. A do-not-miss. ”

– Justine Magazine

“Moving and poignant.”

– Glitter Magazine

“An entertaining and romantic road-trip
debut.”

– Kirkus

"Leila's quest to find the Northern
Lights takes readers on a captivating cross-country journey, where four
strangers' adventures collide into one riveting tale of finding
yourself."

– YABooksCentral.com

“This will likely be a
popular summer
hit, especially for older teen about to embark on their own journeys of
self-discovery.” – Booklist

About the Author

Adi Alsaid was born and
raised in Mexico City, then studied at the
University of Nevada, Las Vegas. While in class, he mostly read fiction and
continuously failed to fill out crossword puzzles, so it's no surprise that
after graduating, he did not go into business world but rather packed up his
apartment into his car and escaped to the California coastline to become a
writer. He's now back in his hometown, where he writes, coaches high school and
elementary basketball, and has perfected the art of making every dish he eats
or cooks as spicy as possible. In addition to Mexico, he's lived in Tel Aviv,
Las Vegas, and Monterey, California. A tingly feeling in his feet tells him
more places will eventually be added to the list. Let's Get Lost is his YA
debut.

So as it turns out, I would not want anyone on my island who wasn't useful. Every character I chose has badass character traits. We'd make an awesome colony (though I might be pretty useless, comparatively speaking).

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish - a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers. Each week they post a new Top Ten list and everyone is welcome to join. Click here to get involved!

Peppa is just your average Australian young woman, really. 23 years old, widowed and owner of a cat who can speak perfect English. (But no one will believe her about the cat.) Why is she being stalked by one of the customers from her job at the City South Post Office? What secrets does the mysterious Ivory Black know about Peppa and her past? What does he know about the strange murders that are happening all over Adelaide? And was it really necessary of him to steal her boyfriend's scarf?

Cats, Scarves and Liars is a quirky, offbeat tail tale from a unique Australian writer. You'll laugh, you'll cry you'll discover the meaning of life. (Actually, we lied about that last part.)

Cats, Scarves and Liars... What can I say about this book? Well, the author doesn't believe in the Oxford comma, so we disagree there. Okay, so that's irrelevant.

This book claims to be an offbeat thriller and it's definitely not lying about the "offbeat" part. I would call it a blend of Amelia Bedelia and Scooby Doo, but I would not label it a thriller. In fact, I'd say the mystery part of the story is pretty predictable. The plot is largely unbelievable and a bit ridiculous, to be honest, but it's a quick read and it did keep me turning pages, so it wasn't a total loss. That being said, the flaws outweighed the positives, unfortunately.

The main character in Cats, Scarves and Liars is Peppa (who is apparently quite forgettable since I had to look that up just now), a recent widow who is apparently the catch of the town while simultaneously being worthy of no one. In fact, Peppa reminds the reader repeatedly of how unworthy she is of Julian (her new main squeeze), which becomes really annoying very early on. She's honestly an extremely confusing character - very wishy washy. For example, when we learn about her previous relationship, she tells us that she stripped to her underwear and let Tom, her dearly departed husband, give her her first big O... but followed this by informing him that she was saving sex for marriage. Not only that, but she criticizes others for sexism while being (previously) married to a misogynistic pig. Tom was a despicable human being. So much so that I cannot understand why Peppa is at all torn up about his death. She knows that he was a piece of crap and she still feels bad about dating. Why? The antagonist in this book is severely disturbed and disgusting. To be honest, he was the best part of the book!

The main plot device in the book was an unusual form of LSD and was really too far fetched for me. The characters were all very one dimensional with not much growth (the main reason it was all so predictable) and the world building could definitely have been better.

I wanted to like Cats, Scarves and Liars, I really did, but I just couldn't get into the story. It's far lighter than what I was hoping for since it was, after all, listed as a thriller (it's on the cover!). I'm not sure I could recommend this book, but maybe that's just because it wasn't my cup of tea. If anyone should read it, it's someone might would enjoy a quick, light, humorous book without much thrill over a weekend.